New timeline emerges in Lexington gas explosion investigation

LEXINGTON, Mo. (KCTV) - New details have emerged after a house explosion last Wednesday killed a 5-year-old boy and injured two others after a gas line was struck in Lexington, Missouri.

Tickets made through Missouri 811 show who was involved, what time the line was hit, and what was reported.

The boy’s sister and father continue to recover in the hospital.

KCTV5 was initially told the gas line was hit around 5:45 p.m. on Wednesday, April 9, 2025.

Missouri 811 ticketing system shows a different timeline.

Missouri 811 is not a government entity. It is authorized by a state statute to be the notification center for digging.

Anyone planning to dig will call 811 to get utilities marked, KCTV5 was told that was done in the Lexington case.

“Missouri 811 does not put the paint on the ground we don’t put the flags in the yard, we notify the utilities and the utilities are responsible for marking their underground infrastructure or they may hire a third party contractor,” said Missouri 811 Executive Director, Randy Norden.

He said if damage occurs, they are required to file a ticket, something KCTV5 Investigates found through 811.

On April 9, 2025, a ticket was placed by Alfra Communication LLC, the subcontractor laying the fiber line near 18th Street in Lexington.

The ticket shows it was submitted at 4:18 p.m. for a ‘dig up’ meaning something was damaged. It states the type of work: ‘DIGUP - GAS - GAS IS BLOWING,’ while laying the line for United Fiber.

The ticket shows the damage happened in the rear easement, which appears to be behind the home that exploded.

Another ticket was placed by Liberty Utilities at 4:54 p.m. the same day. This was an emergency call.

This type of work was labeled: EMERGENCY - REPAIR GAS MAIN.

Norden said the crews followed the proper protocol by Missouri 811 when it comes to digging and damages.

READ MORE: Construction company involved in Lexington explosion says subcontractor followed required procedures

The explosion then happened around 7:45 p.m.

The day after the incident, Liberty Utilities said there weren’t any indications of gas when they took reads at the scene.

KCTV5 Investigates reached out to Alfra Communication about the incident and they did not have any comment.

On Tuesday, Liberty Utilities shared:

We are pleased to share that we began service restorations in area 3 – the final area – this morning/ the morning of April 15. We expect to have most customers restored by end of day Wednesday, with some restoration efforts continuing into Thursday (or as long as needed for customers who may be away from home). We thank the people of Lexington for their patience as we took this necessary time for the safety of our customers, crews, and all those supporting our restoration efforts. The safety and wellbeing of our customers and communities remains our highest priority.

Norden said if there are complaints regarding digging or non-compliant companies, those go to the Missouri Attorney General. KCTV5 reached out to see if they’ve received complaints about any of the companies involved but did not hear back as of Tuesday afternoon.

“As Missouri 811 and as the executive director, it isn’t that we just want to say we are just the notification center and we are not involved in that we are very concerned about the activities under the penumbra of everything that goes around this process the damage prevention,” said Norden. He added, “We perform hours every year of training for excavators training directly to the utilities, and that public safety portion is kept in there along with the idea of just following the one-call law and doing what you have to do. It is very concerning to us we want to make sure people are doing what they are supposed to be doing.”

The NTSB shared Tuesday that a preliminary report of the investigation should be available within 30 days.

Copyright 2025 KCTV. All rights reserved.